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Greatest Sight Gag Ever

I'm not going to comment on this movie's merit on the whole, because I saw it a long time and barely remember it. I will never forget, however, the scene of the lizard running through the shopping mall. It is the most hilarious thing you will ever see. Rent this movie, if for nothing else, to see the lizard in the mall.

Suspense, romance and mischievousness

The film has four or five stars acting: Marlon Brando (surprising the audience with revival Don Corleone), Matthew Broderick (an ingenuous outsider student), Penelope Ann Miller (a delicious impostor girl friend of Broderick), Bruno Kirby (a nice New Yorker mob member), and the splendid photography of New York City. Suspense, romance, mischievousness and smart direction of Andrew Bergman. That cannot be lost!

As graceful and charming a performance as he ever gave

Word has it that Brando wasn't happy with the movie, but it's hard to see why. Bergman's ham-fisted humor hits the mark a lot more of the time than usual, the ensemble cast is fine (Matthew Broderick is always best in these kinds of settings, at least when it comes to movies), and the one major anachronistic gaffe (no mafia boss would have a photo of Mussolini in a place of honor on the wall - he locked 'em up and they hated him) is harmless in context.But Brando is what makes the movie special: like a sprinkling of something heavenly on an otherwise earthbound enterprise. He's done far more brilliant work elsewhere, of course, but I can't think of another movie that caught just what a uniquely odd presence he was.I'll say it again: As graceful and charming a performance as he ever gave. RIP, big man.

"Like the cereal, like the breakfast cereal."

While not perfect, 'The Freshman' knows what the audience wants and, while not overdoing it, hit the right chords. Spoofing (or should I say poking fun at) 'The Godfather', The Freshman allows Marlon Brando to reprise his oscar winning role, channeling Vito Corleone in Mafioso Carmine Sabatini. Instead of allowing the audience to make the comparison themselves they immediatly make it for you aknowledging that Carmine was the inspiration for the central charactor in the Godfather films. This film follows Matthew Broderick who plays Clark Kellog (like the breakfast cereal) as he attends NY Film School. He inadvertantly meets and ends up employed by Carmine, which leads to his involvment in illegal activities that endanger his life and the life of a Kamodo Dragon (hilarious, believe me). The film, instead of bombarding you with laugh after laugh, has it's slow spots, but when the laughs come (most involving the lizard) they come hard and they are well worth the weight (the whole mall scene is worth the whole film). When you get to the whole 'Gourmet Club' scene it's just priceless! Marlon Brando gives a great performance, and Penelope Ann Miller as his beautiful and seductive daughter Tina does well (my father thinks Clark to be an 'A' student). All together this is a well packaged comedy that delivers the goods quite well...and Marlon Brando, I mean, how many times can I say watch it for Marlon Brando...awesome performance.

"Well, without humour what do we have?"

I must have seen this film twenty times. It's one of my absolute favourites. It's gentle, heartfelt, funny, subtle and delicate. It's also, of course, an absolute delight for movie buffs. I know it's an absurd thing to say, but in many ways this is my favourite Brando performance: he's having such a good time sending himself up. He does it with such obvious relish but, at the same time, he IS Marlon Brando, the greatest actor Hollywood ever produced, and his character has all the regal gravitas that he brought to bear so effectively in "The Godfather". For those of us who thought that the only thing wrong with "The Godfather" was that there wasn't enough of the old man, this film is an unheard of feast.Of course the story is daft, so what? I LOVE the scenes with the giant lizard - especially the end with Brando walking it and talking to it. There are so many great lines - I suggest that your reviewer who couldn't understand a word Brando said throughout the film cleans his ears out so he can hear gems such as: "So this is college. I didn't miss nothing'", and, "When you get to Hollywood I want you to gimme a call. I could kick a few doors open for ya." And Maximilion Schell: superb as the mad chef. "Carmine said one boy, here are two." There are so few gentle Hollywood comedies, with genuine poignancy, where the "feelgood" factor isn't tacked on, where's there's no sentimental slop, just humanity and warmth. Cherish this beautiful little film and marvel that it even ever came to be made.

Idiotic,stupid, ridiculous, and inane

If there was ever a stupid and idiotic idea for a movie, this is it. Any kind of aliens from any planet invading any place would make more sense than this movie. The only redeeming feature is Brando's performance, which in the context of the plot, writing, and other performances, is a miracle.
This movie idea and script is straight out of the trash. A five year old kid could write a better script. Each and every executive who ok'ed this movie should be fired and never work again in film.

Worth seeing for Brando's performance, but not much else

The Freshman is probably best known for Marlon Brando doing a parody of his legendary Godfather character. While in itself, this performance is pretty funny, the film in which it occurs is fairly forgettable, and ultimately a letdown.

Matthew Broderick stars as Clark Kellogg, a freshman at NYU film school who gets fleeced of all his belongings before he even sets foot on campus. The perpetrator is Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby) who, when Clark catches up with him, sets him up with a job working for Vic's uncle, Carmine Sabatini (Brando), who Clark immediately notices bears an uncanny resemblance to Don Corleone. Clark's job, for which he will be compensated $500, is to transport some unidentified cargo from JFK Airport to Cherry Hill, NJ.

Clark is more than a little surprised when he finds out that the cargo he is to move is, in fact, a Komodo dragon. He decides that this job is not for him, and wants to get out, but Carmine has taken quite a liking to this kid, so much so that he insists Clark marry his only daughter, Tina (Penelope Ann Miller). Clark is confused by the whole situation, and even moreso when federal agents need his help in their investigation of Carmine's use of these endangered species. As it turns out, more than one party involved in this fiasco are not revealing all the cards they have been dealt.

The Freshman is a harmless film, intended simply to make you laugh. And there are a few laughs to be had here, but not nearly as many as would be expected. A lot of the jokes fall flat, such as how everybody seems to think Clark is from a different state in the Midwest. Throughout the film, I found myself just waiting for something better to happen, and it never really did. It's good to see a movie do a send-up of gangster flicks, but this one just doesn't do much for me.


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Highly enjoyable

This is a very funny movie that casts Matthew Broderick as a new-to-the-city college kid who gets mixed up with a shady character named Vic right after he arrives. Through a series of events, he becomes involved with Vic's family, which include Uncle Carmine and his daughter Tina.Everyone is perfectly suited to his role and even Brando appears to be having a lot of fun with his own image. The supporting cast is worth mentioning - especially Paul Benedict as an obnoxious college professor, and Maximillian Shell as a business associate of Carmine Sabatini.This is ultimately a touching movie about loyalty and family, and it sure is fun.You even get to see the Mona Lisa if you watch this movie!

Delightful movie, often overlooked.

Young Clark Kellogg (Matthew Broderick) comes to New York, and within minutes, is robbed of most of his possessions. Even though he finds the robber, he is still short on cash (NYU Film School's required books aren't cheap) and is receptive to the idea of a job as an errand boy. He is stunned to meet his boss, Carmine Sabatini (Marlon Brando), who happens to look and sound like Don Vito Corleone. Clark soon finds himself tangled with Sabatini's Mafia-like affairs, not to mention his daughter, but mixed with that is a genuine liking and respect for the pseudo-Don. But with danger threatening from the Feds and a mob from South Amboy, is there a way out for both of them?

A delight of humor, as both Broderick and Brando excel. Look for a tour de force by Maximillian Schnell as the mysterious Larry London.

Lots of in-jokes here, from the portrayal of NYU Film School to Sabatini telling Kellogg that he knows a few people in Hollywood! The final scenes leave you laughing (Bert Parks hailing a Komodo Dragon with a Miss America parody, the very Germanic London being given intro music of a few notes of "Deutchland Uber Alles" and "The Ride of the Valkyies", Sabatini addressing said Komodo Dragon with "You cudda been a handbag" (recalling the backseat scene from "On the Waterfront"). The movie never takes itself too seriously.

One wishes that, given the capabilities of the DVD, that more material would be given the viewer. Unfortunately, we are left with the theatrical trailer and not much more. Disappointing.

The liner notes do disclose that the role of Sabatini was not actually written for Brando, and that the Komodo Dragon was played by a number of similar-looking giant monitors.

Still, one of the finest comedy movies of the late '80s. You won't regret it.

Great!

This is one of my favorite movies, one I can watch and enjoy on repeated viewing. All the actors really bought into the tone of the movie, which tells me that the director had a clear vision and was able to communicate it to the cast. Brando is brilliant, as usual, and I find his performance to be highly entertaining in that he spoofed his Godfather persona so effectively. I always enjoy seeing (and hearing--love his voice) Bruno Kirby, and I especially like that he was cast in a movie about the Godfather, given the fact that he had played the young Clemenza in the Godfather II. Penelope Miller also played her part well--I especially liked her character's behavior toward Matthew Broderick's character as she assumed he was going to marry her and be part of the family. Her exasperation with Broderick ("This isn't the Clark I know") was great.Then there's Matthew Broderick. This is the last movie he made that I truly enjoyed. He is absolutely perfect in this part. His part calls for him to portray his earnest and trusting personality, his loyalty to Brando's character and to the job he agreed to perform, his growing fondness and respect for Brando's character, and his confusion about perhaps having given his respect to such a disreputable character. Broderick carries off all these aspects of his role, yet shows the strength of character to be able to help solve all his problems by the movie's end.Or, he could have ended up as Rodolfo Lasparri of Palermo, Sicily.

An offer you can't refuse

This might be the best comedy movie ever made. I just saw this from TV and I seriously think this is the funniest I've seen. Delightful, hilarious, Brando! 5 minutes in and you're caught. This movie catches you right from the start. And it keeps you smiling till the end. Even the last sentence of this movie got me still laughing. So highly recommended! I can't understand why this has so low-rating here, so just ignore that. Marlon Brando is just incredible, he does a parody role from The godfather, and still creates sympathy to this character. He is just the best actor of all time. I loved Matthew Broderick's work too, he was so believable.Take time, get this movie and watch it. You won't be disappointed.I gave 9 out of 10 to this. 9 because this still isn't The Godfather ;)

Must see over again to appreciate

I read many of the reviews and I concur with the positive ones. A wonderful blend of acting, direction and writing that improves with each viewing. I was surprised at the small number of quotes. The scene between Tina and Fleeber from when she enters the room to when she leaves is priceless. "My father thinks Clark is an A student", "I am Carmine Sabatini's only daughter", etc. So many excellent quotes. My wife and I bring them up often. "Rodolfo Lasparri of Palermo". Classic, subtle comic performances. I wonder if Brando saw the edited version? Plus, the cast call exits and the end add a wonderful touch, as they did in "The Quiet Man" and others.

A MUST SEE!

To quote another critic from 1990, any film that shows Marlon Brando ice skating and Bert Parks singing Bob Dylan's Maggie's Farm is a MUST SEE!

Broderick looks bored, Brando looks like he's acting, and the result is unmemorable all round.

Matthew Broderick plays his usual, disinterested blank-faced self, in the clothes of a new college student who gets himself involved by happenstance with the Godfather himself (Marlon Brando).The worst thing about The Freshman is that the godfather himself does not do a good impression of the godfather anymore. And i'll give you a dollar if you can understand a single word he says.The best thing about The Freshman are the jokes about The Godfather: "gee, you look a hellova lot like... ." They're hysterical, and lots of fun if you're a fan of the fim.Highlight: the film class scene where Broderick's lecturer salivates over The Godfather II as he talks about it, then plays a clip from it, and we see him mouthing the words along to it. Lots of fun. Worth a rental to see that scene alone. This is not a good entry in the "fun situation comedy" genre, however.5/10.

The Godfather of the 90s........

This movie is really cool I like all of the caracters. Matthew Broderic is good as the movie colege kid and best of all Marlon Brando who gives a great performance as the godfather practically Bruno kirby is good as his nephew who at the beginning steels kellog's bag it's especially funny when the commodo dragon runs loose in the mall and it's funny at the beginning when kelleg meets Brando for the first to when he's about to tell him his resemblance to the godfather the whole movie's just hillarious and it's like the godfather of the as apposed to the people in Sicely and the godfather music and it's all set in the 50s but this one's set in the 90s in New York were people everyday can get robed at any time. It's kind of the same as the godfather the scene when (Brando) is going on to the street to get fruit accept he's not about to be shot. If your a fan of the Godfather you'll love this movie. 10/10

Brando's role in this movie

Anyone who has seen Brando for years understands this. He finds the space in each role to try something totally unlike he has ever done. When you think about it, that is not easy for any actor. In fact, let's face it. Many actors make a career... making a career. They find one hook and take it to the bank for the rest of their lives. Now no actor can completely move outside of himself or herself in every role. But what Brando has done in this movie defies imagination. He takes a role that assumes he must portray a direct caricature of his role in the Godfather and then does not merely caricature that role; he adds depth and nuance beyond what even that role allows for. This is spectacular acting. The end, in any comedy, tends to be predictable, of course, but the middle of this movie especially, as one reviewer notes here, the dormitory scene with Matthew Broderick, and an earlier scene where Brando sips espresso with Broderick and discusses his daughter, are the height of American acting. You may think you can't see them at times when he squints-but watch Brando's eyes in that scene.

Brando:no disrespect here

If there has ever been a role that sould not have been reprised it was Marlon Brando's one for the ages portrail of Vito Corleone in The Godfather. Yet Brando cleverly abd briliantly spoofs his classical performance in this movie. Almost as important is that the rest of the cast, Mathew Brodrick, Penelope Ann Miller, and especially Bruno Kirby, are not upstaged by Brando's presence. If you are a Brando fan this movie is a must see. It does not really matter what the movie is about, just watch for Brando's comic genius.

A funny film that gets better each time you watch it!

This is a cleverly funny film that shows Matthew Broderick doing what he does best in a comedic role. Couple that with Marlon Brando in a very godfatherly role, Bruno Kirby's scene stealing support role and a great supporting cast, and you have the "recipe" for a funny movie. There are so many quick jokes, including a few good inside ones, that this film gets grows on you even more with each viewing.

One of Brando's last great performances

Marlon Brando did what few actors have pulled off with the Freshman. He parodied his most iconic character and got some of the best reviews of his career. Most actors who attempt this are taken to task for repeating a performance or becoming a self parody of themselves. Brando always did whatever he wanted though which is what made him the greatest. This film benefits greatly from him because when he is not on screen it gets to be a bit silly and boring. I don't want to take away from Matthew Broderick who gives a very strong performance as Clark Kellogg. Clark has just moved to New York to study film at N.Y.U. After he arrives he is robbed by a cabbie (Bruno Kirby) who makes off with Clark's cash and luggage. Needing money to buy his books for school he is in need of a job. When he spots the cabbie hauling his luggage up the street he chases him down after which the cabbie offers him a job working for his uncle Carmine. Clark remains suspicious even after he meets Carmine Sabatini (Brando). They based the character of the Godfather on Carmine Clark is told. He offers Clark a position as a delivery man of sorts. Sabatini is an importer who needs someone to make pickups and deliveries for him twice a week. The pay is good: a couple of thousand a week . Clark has his doubts and reluctantly goes to work for Sabatini. His first pickup is a giant lizard which he is to deliver to an an exclusive supper club that Sabatini owns where it will be served up to some rich people at an upcoming dinner. The lizard is endangered and soon two F.B.I. agents are after Clark leaning on him to give up Sabatini. Clark has begun to regard him as a father by this point since his real father died when he was young so he is conflicted. Lots of mafia movie parodies and conventions are played out in this one. The supporting cast includes Penelope Ann Miller as Tina, Carmine's daughter who develops a crush on Clark, and Frank Whaley who plays Clark's college roommate who goes with him to pick up the cargo. Brando is responsible for the funniest moments in the film. Even though he was big he was still graceful and handsome. After the film wrapped but before it opened he disowned the film saying it would be a flop. He later retracted those statements and said the film was a wonderful comedy with moments that would be remembered for some time. He may have oversold it but his performance is certainly funny and bound to be remembered.

Now you're talking generalities...

Fine funny film. Brando later bad-mouthed this movie but he seems to be having a great time spoofing his Vito Corleone character. Bruno Kirby and Matthew Broderick have never been better. We loved the Kimono dragon sequence but the dialogue is exceptionally clever and the film has a sweetness to it that is sadly absent from today's "family" films. Bruno Kirby played opposite the Vito Corleone character (Robert Deniro) in Godfather II which is seen in Clark's film studies class. Highly recommended for film-buffs in particular and anyone who's every wanted to see Don Corleone walking a kimono dragon on a leash!